ANDY MURRAY has been backed to break his Grand Slam duck at the US Open by Goran Ivanisevic and Mats Wilander.

The final Major of the year begins in New York on Monday with Murray hoping to add to the Olympic gold medal he won earlier this month.

The Scot’s hopes have been boosted after Spanish star Nadal withdrew from the US Open with the same knee injury that forced him to miss London 2012.

And Ivanisevic, the 2001 Wimbledon champion, believes the 25-year-old’s straight-sets rout of world No.1 Roger Federer in the Olympic final will have flooded Murray with self-belief.

The Croat said: “My pick for the US Open is Andy Murray. I’d really like to see him win it – he deserves it.

“He played a really great Olympic Games and that will give him extra motivation and confidence.

“The US Open is his best surface so I believe he will do it.

“It doesn’t matter that Rafael Nadal has pulled out – Andy is ready with or without him.”

Wilander, the 1988 champion at Flushing Meadows, believes Murray is flourishing under the guidance of new coach Ivan Lendl.

The 47-year-old Swede said: “My prediction for the US Open is Andy Murray winning. I’m not saying that just because he won the Olympics, it’s because he’s a different man.

“Ivan Lendl has helped him tremendously. He’s becoming better physically all the time and he hits his forehand more consistently – but the biggest difference is emotionally.

“He’s more even-keeled, he’s more positive and there’s not as much pressure for him at the US Open as there is at Wimbledon.

“Andy Murray is one up against Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic after the Olympics – he knows that he can beat them back to back now.

“Five-set matches, with the attitude he has now, are going to favour him and when he plays well with a good attitude he is at least as good a player as the other top three.

“By taking Nadal out of the equation that might mean he has only to beat one of Djokovic and Federer along the way and that’s going to make it much easier for him to finally land the Major he deserves.”

? Goran Ivanisevic and Mats Wilander will be appearing in the Statoil Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall, London, December 5-9.